Scientific toy.



PATENTED MAR. 3, 1903.

W. H. ZIMMERMAN.

SCIENTIFIC TOY.

APPLICATION FILED APR. lg, 1902.

)NVENIOR Zmmem'm N0 MODEL.

WITNESSES: f

' BY ATTORNEYS Urrn Srans WILLIAM ll. ZIMMERMAN, OF IIALETIIORPE, MARYLAND.

SCIENTIFIC TOY.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 722,070, dated March 3, 1903.

Application filed April 10, 1902. Serial No. 102,222. (No model.)

To aZZ whom, it ntcty concern.-

Be it known that I, WVILLIAM H. ZIMMER- MAN, of I-Ialethorpe, in the county of Balti more and State of Maryland, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Scientific Toys, of which the following is a specification.

My invention is in the nature of a novel scientific toy designed to furnish amusement and instruction to both young and old. Its purpose is to illustrate certain principles of physics by attracting the attention and stimulating the interest of the observer by the simple and pleasing form of a toy which is susceptible of many modified uses and covers a broad range of lessons in physics. Among the principles capable of illustration thereby are the tendency of a rotating body to rotate about its minor axis, the tendency of a rotating body to preserve its plane of rotation, mechanical color-blending in illustrating .the composition of light, the astronomical phenomenon of Saturns rings and certain new phenomena in optics observed by me, as hereinafter described.

It consists in a simple and pleasinglittle mechanical apparatus, which I term a little blow-mill, combined with certain accessory parts which all together,at the merely nominal price of a toy,take the place of expensive laboratory apparatus and is especially adapted to winlthe attention of primary pupils in schools and to give clear and impressive instruction concerning the important laws of nature in the guise of a plaything.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a sectional view of the essential parts of the blow-mill, having suspended thereto one of the accessory demonstrationrings. Figs.2, 3, 4:, 5, 6, and 7 are views of the coacting accessory parts of the toy. Fig. 8 is an enlarged view of the wind-wheel spindle and supporting-loop, and Fig. 9 is a View of the blow-mill inclosed for transportation in the pocket and adapted to contain within its casing all of its accessory parts.

In the drawings, A represents the windwheel, which is simply and cheaply formed of a thin disk, preferably of metal, stamped with radial slits and having the planes of the radial blades formed, bent, or inclined to the plane of revolution of the wheel, so that an air-blast impinging against the wheel at right angles to its plane or parallel with its axis will cause said wheel to sensitively and rapidly revolve. This Wheel has on its lower side at the center a rigidly-attached tubular hub or sleeve a, which embraces a hanging pin 1), rigidly attached at its upper end to the center of a cupped shell or half-casing B, which is preferably stamped up in a single piece, like the top of a blacking-box. On the top of this shell is formed or attached a thimble 0, which communicates with the interior of the shell at a point near the outer edge of the wheel. Onto this thimble is detachably fitted a short soft-rubber tube O, with mouthpiece c. If desired, this tube may be made very short and rigid. It'is made of rubber, so that it may be easily removed and packed inside the casing with the other parts when transported in the pocket.

On the lower end of the hanging-pin b is formed a head, which arrests the downward movement of the hub of the wheel and prevents the latter from dropping off. To the hub of the wheel is soldered or otherwise attached a ring or loop (Z, which forms an attaching-point for the upper end of a flexible cord D, carrying at its lower end a hook c. This loop d, as seen in Fig. 8, is slightly inclined to the axis of the wheel, so that the upper end of the loop may be attached to the hub of the wheel and still have the lower end of the loop, to which the cord is attached, di rectly under the axial center of the wheel.

The foregoing constitutes the essential motor parts of my blow-mill. To illustrate its action, if we take a simple ring E and suspend it upon the hook and then blow into the mouthpieces the wheel will rapidly revolve, turning or twisting the cord until it sets the ring into rotation, and as soon as the ring reaches a considerable velocity of rotation it rises against gravity to the horizontal position, and the cord describes as a surface of revolution an attenuated cone, asshown by dotted lines. This tendency of the ring to rise against gravity to the horizontal position illustrates the tendency of rotating bodies to rotate about their shortest axes.

In the, place of the ring E a ring F with a central disk divided radially into the colors of the spectrum may be used. When rapidly rotated, this also rises to the horizontal position, as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 1, and gives convenient illustration of the composition and recomposition of white light by causing the colors to blend into white at high speed.

In Fig. 4 a heavy ball G is fixed in the center of the rings. When this is suspended upon the hook by its outer ring and the cord is rapidly turned, even the heavy weight of the ball is not sufficient to prevent the rings from rising to the horizontal position, in which they rotate in manner to give good illustration of the rings of the planet Saturn.

If the ring (see Fig. 5) be made with a spindle-point H, like a top, and the ring is suspended from the hook of the blow-mill, the ring of the top when rapidly rotated assumes a horizontal position, and after revolving at a good speed the suspended top may be brought suddenly down upon a fiat tablesurface to continue its rotation thereon. To do this successfully, however, it is necessary to place the hook in the ring with the point of the hook trending or pointing inwardly to the center of the ring, so that when the top strikes the table-surface centrifugal action will throw the hook off. If the hook is pointed the other way, it will not be thrown ofl. This gives illustration of the tendency of a rotating body to preserve its plane of rotation, as evidenced by the top standing up and continuing to spin, and it also illustrates cen trifugal action in the throwing of the ring of? at a tangent when the spindle of the top strikes the table.

If, as in Fig. 6, the top be made with a funnel I on its lower side instead of a spindlepoint, and a stand J, with a pivotal point K, be provided, the top maybe dropped on the pivotal point by careful manipulation by a sudden downward movement of the blowmill. This result, not being easy to accomplish, may be regarded as a puzzle. It is only necessary, however, to have a steady hand and to manipulate carefully with a quick downward movement and to be sure that the point of the suspending-hook trends inward, so that it may be dislodged by centrifugal action.

In Fig. 7 are shown two white pasteboard cards of dilferent shape perforated with numerous holes. By rotating these rapidly in a horizontal position on the hook the cards assume a color or colors according to the intensity of the light, the number and relation of the punctures, and the varying shapes and designs given them, which I believe to be a new and original discovery with me.

When the various accessory parts are to be packed for transportation, they are placed in a half-casing B, preferably formed of sheet metal, which fits the first-named half B, that acts as the frame of the blow-mill. The whole toy, with all its parts, then becomes a selfcontained package, as seen in Fig. 9, and may be conveniently carried in the pocket of the boy and girl as a conveniently-portable toy.

In defining my invention with greater clearness I would state that I am aware that toys have been made in which a wind-wheel is provided with a mouthpiece to direct a blast of air against its vanes, and I do not claim this broadly. My invention is distinctive in the construction of the frame of the blowmill, so as to form a part of the containing case, in the special arrangement of the suspending-loop at the wheel-hub, and in the combination, with the blow-mill, of the case and also the various accessory rings and disks, as hereinbefore described.

For suspending the various rings from the little rotary motor I have described and prefer to use a simple cord on account of its cheapness and flexibility, which latter permits it to adjust itself so as to describe a surface of revolution in responding to the movement of the rings; but I would have it understood that a fine chain or delicate piece of wire may be used in the place of the cord and are equivalents thereof within the scope of my invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A scientific toy comprising a wind-wheel, a supporting cup-shaped casing with central axial pin for the wheel and downwardly-pro jectin g flange inclosing the Wheel and a mouthpiece on the upper side and a suspending-cord attached centrally to the wheel and having a hook on its lower end, substantially as and for the purpose described.

2. A scientific toy, comprising a wind-wheel with a hollow hub, a cup-shaped casing forming a frame for supporting the wheel and having a central and headed pin passing through the hub of the wheel on one side, and a mouthpiece on the other, an attaching-loop for a suspending-cord, said loop being connected to the hub of the wheel and disposed with its lowest point in the axial line of the wheelaxis, and a cord fixed to said loop and having a hook on its lower end, substantially as and for the purpose described.

3. A scientific toy comprising a rotary motor, a suspending-cord or its described equivalent, attached to the center of the rotary motor and bearing a hook at its lower end, and

a detachable ring adapted to be hung on the hook and constructed with a spinning center to form a top, said hook being constructed and arranged to be released from the top by centrifugal action when the point of the hook is turned toward the center, substantially as described and for the purpose set forth.

4:. A scientific toy comprisinga rotary motor, a suspending-cord or its described equivalent, attached to the center of the rotary motor and bearing a hook at its lower end, a detachable ring adapted to be hung on the hook and constructed with a spinning center ing a central spindle to support the latter and the other of which sections cooperates with the first named to completely inclose and protect the blow-mill and its accessory parts, and a flexible cord and hook centrally attached to the blow-mill and adapted to be coiled and retained within the casing, as de- 20 scribed.

WILLIAM H. ZIMMERMAN.

Witnesses:

BERNARD A. SCHMITZ, CHARLES F. HARLEY. 

